I have some important advice for you, if you or a loved one (especially over age 65) is ever in the hospital.
Be very careful about “Fake News Medication Lists”
What on earth am I talking about?
Well, it’s very common whenever anyone gets admitted to the hospital, to get information from the computerized medical records about what drugs they take at home. Many people over age 65 are on multiple medications. This is of course, usually checked again with the patient and family when they first get admitted to the hospital by the admitting doctor or pharmacy tech, usually in the ER.
However, let me tell you this— as a doctor who has worked in many different hospitals over the years— this process (known as medication reconciliation) is very problematic and mistakes happen all the time in a busy hospital environment.
One of the biggest problems is that the records on the computer system are often inaccurate from what the person is actually now taking (it might be an old list, or something may have been changed recently, or maybe they were not actually ever taking the medication). That’s why I call them “fake news medication lists”.
Hopefully, you can see why this might be a big problem if medications that the patient is no longer on, or have been changed, get continued in the hospital.
My best bit of advice to you if you have a loved one in the hospital:
CLOSE THE LOOP
Do this:
Call the nurses station the FOLLOWING MORNING after admission, and insist on speaking to the nurse and going over the medications that they are giving. This will confirm that the hospital has the right home medications for your loved one.
This may sound very simple and straightforward, but let me tell you the number of errors I have seen is insane! Hospitals and doctors do not mean to do harm, but they are very busy places and things get missed all the time. That’s why you need to be a great advocate for your loved one.
Feel free to share any of your stories down below, but I’d like you to always remember to do that, especially if your loved one is on multiple medications.